Lubricating system for sewing machines



May 16, 1933. R A-HERR 1,909,826

LUBRIGATING SYSTEM FUR SEWING MACHINES Filed June 28, 1950 3 Sheets -Sheet l gwuemtow Park A. Zlerr WMesAea1 1%; 11/

May 16, 1933. P. A. HERR LUBRICATING SYSTEM FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed June 28, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 gwue'nto'p Park A. Herr I May 16, 1933. HERR 1,909,826

LUBRICATING SYSTEM FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed June 28, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 mMWW/MAJ sa,

Patented May 16, 1933 PA-Rx A. ana, or IWIILLSIDE, NEW annsnznssrcnon To 'rnn'srnsnn. MENU-FAC- TUBINQL oomrnm, or; ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY, AC'ORPOBA'IIQN or msw JERSEY 'nunnrcn'rine SYSTEM ro nsnwnwe' nncnmns j Application filed June 28,

- This invention relates to a lubricatingsys temfor sewing, machines and more particularly for high-speed power-driven machines which are especiall constructed 01:

stitching material treate with a sizing. Particles of this sizing not infrequently find their way into the sewing machine bearings, causing them to overheat andr stick for want of properlubricant, with a consequent interrnptionof the stitching operation. I i

=It-has for its object to provide a means-of insuring a uniform delivery of lubricant to themore important sewing machine bearings whereby they are automatically or self-lubricated during theoperation of the machine.

i Another object oi. the invention is to rovide a constant and uniformfiow of luricantvto a bearing and to provide means for collecting. and conducting the surplus lubr cant away from such .bcaringu provide means for collecting and conducting thesurplus lubricant irom one bearing. for lubricating'an adjacent bearing,

The device comprises a lubricant 1'eceptac'le or reservoir mounted upon the over hanging sewing machine bracket-arm. De.-

pending from the reservoir and. terminating abovethe-inside bottom of the latter area series of lubricant conduits, entering enlarged sleeves'i'formed upon the up or ends of lubricants-delivery tubes which tu es lead,

respectively,- to the fron t, middle and rear main shaft-bearings. Lubricant is supplied to the reservoir and automatically fed into the delivery tubes by capillary attraction -byj means ,of' lamp-wicks extending from the bottom of the reservoir over and into the ends of the conduits. I The lubricant-delivery tubes lead to and terminate above bearing-bushings provided the shaft, feeds lubricant thereto supplied;

through the deliverytubes from, the reser-V voir. j j V r v j l :The surplus lubricant emerging from both ends of the bearing is collected and con- Awfurther object of thei-nvention is to 1930. senalfm mjara ducted. away from the b earin is ac co nplished by formin shaft-aperture and,providinga lubricant throwing. flange'within the lubricant-collectthrown by centrifugal ,force into the circular cavity formed by the:lubricant-collecting flange and; gradually flnds'vits wayto the a In fricant-collect- 111g. flange 111; one end 0 the bearing-bushing lowest portion ofsuchfcavity from which it v is led to the other end of the bearing by an overflow duct or aperturein the bushing provided for the purpose ,v ,r 1 V A The other end of the hearing -bushing is formed withajreduced portion whichis surrounded by [the 1 overhanging flange of a lubricant collector-13in vloosely carried by the shaft but; rotata le therewith. The

overflow duct or aperture from the :fi'rst named end of the bearing terminates in the cavity formed between thereduced end of the bushing and the, collector ring. l

Surplus lubricant emerging from both ends of the bearing gradually finds its mto thc circular cavity formed. in the collector rlng from which it is ejected through a latenal-lyvprojecting tube. :Thislubri'cant may either be collected or utilized to lubricate an; adjacent rotary bearing such as is formed by thegconnection of a p'itman with a; crank-arm of theshaft. j r j i In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a rear side elevation of the device applied to a welLknown formof Singer sewing ma-. chine, :a'portion of the frame being shown in section, Fig. 2 isfa topplan View of the sewin gimachine bedwith the upright standin' section: Fig. -3 is an enlarged detail sectional view of a portion of the main-' shaft bearing lug 4; with adjacent movable bearings lubricated from the main-shaft bearing. Fig. 4is a'similar'enlarged detail View of a portio-n of the main-shaft bearing lug 5; Fig. 5 is a detail "view, partly'in section, of the bearing bushing 40 with its adjacent lubricant collecting ring and eccen-i tric. Fig. 6 are detail views of the bearing block 46 within the forked arm 50.

As herein represented, the device is applied to a sewing machine comprising the usual bed 1 from which rises the standard 2 whichfcarri'es'fanoverhanging arm 3'. Journaled in bearing lugs 4, 5 and 6,- rising from the bed 1, is the main-shaft 7 formedwith the crank 8 embraced by the pitman 9 for actuating the needleebar mechanism (not shown) housed in theoverhanging arm 3.

Secured to the overhanging arm 3, at its junction with the upright standard 2, is a lubricant receptacle or reservoir '10. Depending from the reservoir, and extending above the bottom of the latter, are a series of enlarged sleeves 11,12, 13 and 14 terminating inlubricant conduits 15, 16, 17 and 18 which deliver lubricant to the bearings. Lamp-wicks' li), extending from the bottom of the reservoir over and into the enlarged sleeves, cause the flow of-lubricantinto the conduits by'capillary attraction.

' The conduit 15 supplies lubricant to the main-shaft bearing'formed in the lug 6 and the adjacent movable bearing on the crank 8 of the main-shaft 7. The lug 6 is recessed to receive'a stationary hearing member or hushing20'provided with an aperture 21 in Which the shaft 7 rotates. The upper portion of the hearing-bushing is formed with a chamber or Well 22,1which is filled with a soft "oil-absorbent packing such as felt or waste 'which is saturated with lubricant from the reservoir 10 fedto it through the conduit 15. The conduit 15 enters an inclined aperture 15 in the sewing machine standard 2 which delivers the lubricant intermediate the bearing'en s in order to insure its even distribution in the hearing. The chamber or well 22 is disposed longitudinally'of the main-shaft 7 and the bottom of the chamber is provided with a slot 23 l extending into the shaft aperture 21 of-the bushing through which lubricant is, supplied to the shaft 7.. 7 3 l o e i Theend of'the bearing-bushing 2 0, adjacent'the driving pulley 24, is undercut at s 25 to form a lubricant-collecting flange,

while the hub: of the adjacent driving pulley is formed with a projecting lubricantthrowing flange 26 disposed within the undercut"lubricant-collecting flange 25'of the bearing bushing 20. The driving pulley be ing secured tov the main-shaft 71 by the set screws 27, and. with its hub formed with the lubricant-throwing flange 26, rotates with theshaft7.v i

, During-therotation of the shaft 7, lubricant which finds its .Way out of the pulleyend of the'bearing, is caught by the face of thelubricant-throwing flange 26 from the periphery which it thrown by centrifugal force into the-adjacent circular chainher or cavity formed by'the lubricant-col-' spent liibricant at that point.-

finds its way into the lowest portion of such cavity whence it is led away by the overflow duct or passage 28 formed in and extending lengthwise of the bearing-bushing 20. f The other-end of the bearin'geb'ushin 20, i. e.,- the end adjacent the crank 8 o the main-shaft 7, is surrounded by the lubricant-collecting ring 29 which is loose upon but rotates with. the shaft; 7 The collecting ring 29 has an overhanging ledge or inturned lip 30 forming vwith the end of the bearing-bushing 20 a continuous lubricantcollecting cavity 31 concentric therewith throughout its periphery.

During the operation of the machine, inbricant which finds its'way out of the-end of the bearing adjacent the crank 8- enters the lubricant-collecting chamber or cavity'31of the collecting ring 29 where it is joined by the spent lubricant from'the pulley'end of the bearing passing-through the overflow ductor passage'28. I Y I A cap-screw 7 entering the end of the mainshaft 7, seals the shaft "opening in the drivin pulley 24 and prevents escape" of vThe luhricant-collecting ring 29 is-pro' vide d with a laterally projecting tube 32 whose aperture is flush with the inner wall of the collecting ring; As previously stated, the collecting ring 29 is loose upon the mainshaft 7 but its rotation with f the latter isinsured by the tube 32 entering a suitable aperture 33 in the crank 8 through which and its extension aperture 34 in" the crank pin 35, lubricant is passed to-the bearing embraced'by the pitman 9. Surplus lubri' cant emerges'from the aperture,36 in the crank 8." a v From the foregoingjit will be observed.

that surplus lubricant emerging from either.

end of the stationary bearing 21 is collected and conducted to the adjacent movable crank.

bearing 35 0f the main-shaft7i 1 I Y a The conduit l6supplie's lubricant'to th mainshaft bearing in the lug5 and the looper. actuating fork adjacent one side thereof The delivery end'of this conduit terminates atthe aperture 37 in the lug 5 through which lubricant reaches the absorbentpack ing 38 in the chamber or W6ll'39 IfOIII1ed'v1I1 the stationary bearing'member or bushing.

40, see Figs. 4 and 5. Thebushing is provided with a reduced portion 41-wh1ch enters a counter-bore 42 in the adjacent ec-- centric 43 secured tothe main-shaft 7 bythe set screw 44. Adjoining the bushing 40, the

eccentric 43 'is provided with the inclined.

aperture 45 through which lubricant overflowing f'rom that end of the bear ng-bushing 40 is ejected to lubricate'the bearing of the block 46 embracing the eccentric 43..

The bearing-block 46 .is provided with the lateral aperture 47 and external groove 48 tame through which lubricant emerging from the bearing of the block 46 upon the eccentric 43 is passed to the lower bearing-seat 49 of,

e forked arm 50 is secured by the set.

screw 51 upon one end of the longitudinal shaft 52 journaled in the bed 7 and upon the other end of the shaft 52 is clamped the looper support 53 provided with the looper 54. The eccentric 43 with the connec tions just described impart to the looper its sidewlse or needle-avoidingmovements. j i

The conduit 17 supplies lubricant to the looper-actuating mechanism adjacent the other end of the main-shaft bearing-lug 5 through the medium ofthe bushing 40. For this purpose, the conduit 17 enters an inclined aperture 55 in the lug 5which aperture registers with a similar aperture 56 in the bushing 40 communicating with the an gularly disposed groove 57 upon the inner earing-wall of the bushing 40. a The re duced portion 58 of the bushing 40 extendin beyond the lug 5 is surrounded by the luEricant-collecting ring 59 whose inner face 60 bears snugly againstthe bushing 40. The reduced end 58 of the bushing is spaced from the inner face of the collecting ring 59, formin with the latter, a lubricant-collect ing cavity 61. Extending laterally from the collecting-ring 59 is a tube 62 which'registers with an aperture 63 in the crank-arm 64 of the main-shaft 7. Libricant from the conduit 17 enters the shaft-bearing through the apertures 55 and 56 and, due to the angularly disposed slot 57 in the inner wall of the bushing 40, the lubricant is directed into the collecting-cavity 61 from which it is ejected by centrifugal force throughthe tube 62 into the aperture 63-from which it reaches the crank-bearing through the slot 65. Surplus lubricant is passed out through 1 the aperture 66 in the crank-arm 64.

The bearing upon the crank-arm 64 is embraced by the strap-end of a pitman 67 whose lower end is pivotally connected by aball-stud 68 with one arm 69 of a' twoarmed rocker 70 journaledjin the bed 1 of the machine. The other arm 71 of the rocker has a link-connection 72 with the loopersupport 53. The mechanism just described imparts loop-seizing and -shedding movements to the looper 54.

The conduit 18 supplies lubricant to the main-shaft bearing in the lug 4 and the feeddog actuating mechanism adjacent thereto.

This conduit terminates at the upper end of an aperture 73 in the lug 4 which is also provided with a stationary bearing-member or bushing 74 having the chamber or well feed-lift pitman 83 embracing the-e centric. Sur lus lubricant is erected 'from the open 1 the outer wall of the feed-actuating eccen-. trio 88 through which surplus lubricant j 75- filled' with a i an ssessment 1 inciting such as I felt L or waste which becomes aturatedjwith lubricant; supplied "to fitfrom the"; reserves-:10 and through-a ldngitudinal slit" 7'5" in are wan of the bushing reaches em The bushing 74 extends at, both endsi' be- I .duced and undercut to formthe lubricant 'dripeedges-va" Secured to the'mai'nsh fttm the fastening screw 77fis thecollar; 78 the feed-lift eccentric-79. The collar 78 collecting cavit 80 whie cbmmunicates with an aperture 81 extending lengthwise er s the eccentric and' 'pafallel with "the mainshaft; 7: Sui-plus l bricant, tameringer: this end of the 'bearin buslfingfH finds its way into. the lubricant-collecting" ma 80 whence, by 'centrifugal force, f enters the aperture 51 through which portion finds itsway through "the pertur -"812 int-He centric" 79 3 to lubricate tlie' bearing of, the.

{of the apertures iThe'ffed lift p'it manjsa' is pivotallyjcon1'1ec'ted byatlie in -l an are; feed-ba ee 'whoseother is upon {the shaft '87 in a well knownrmanner;

bushing 74 int-he l'ug 4 i s surrounded by the counter-bored end of the feed-actuating;- centric 88 secured-tothe main-shaft by the screws 894 The il-collecting cavity 90 at end of the jb'us'hing communicates with 'th inclinedaperture 91 extending to emerging from this end of the main-shaft bearing in the lug 4 reaches the bearing of the feed-actuating eccentric 88. j c.

It will be noted from the foregoing description that I have provided an arrangement which supplies an uninterrupted flow of lubricant from a reservoir to the principal bearings of a sewing machine, permitting the latter to be operated at a comparatively high rate of speed under adverse conditions. i r i It will-be obvious that this lubricating arrangement is equally applicable to machines other than sewing machines for operation at high speed.

pitman 92 embracing the Having thus set forth the nature of the collecting. cavity communicating with said overflow duct, a lubricant-collecting ring rotatable with said shaft at the other end ofsaid bearing and alsocommunicating with said overflow duct, and means for conducting surplus lubricant away from said collecting r ng. v v 1 2. In combination, a stationary bearing member, a shaft journaled therein and hav- "10 ing a crank-bearing adjacent one end of said bearing-member, a rotary lubricant collecting ring fixed to said shaft and surrounding said end'of said bearing-member, a lubricant-duct leading from said lubri- 51 cant-collecting ring to said crank-bearing, a

lubricant-throwing flange at the otherend of said bearing-member and rotatable with v said shaft, a stationary lubricant-collecting flange surrounding said last-named lubri- 20 cant-throwingflange, and a lubricant-duct leading from. said last-named stationary lubricant-collecting flange lengthwise of the stationary bearing-member and discharging 1 into said first-named rotary lubricant-col.-

125 lecting ring. 7 a

1 3. A lubricating device for bearings, com prisinga stationary bearing bushing having anoverflow duct, an undercut lubricant collecting flange formed in one end of said bearing bushing, a shaft, a lubricant-throwing flange rotatable with said shaft and surrounded by the, undercut lubricant-collecting flange, said flanges forming between them a lubricant collecting cavity communi- 735 cating'withsaid overflow duct. I

In testimony whereof I have signed'my name to this specification.

a i y 4 PARK A. HERB.- 

